


Stranger Beneath My Face

by whelmedtobehere



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Everyone is dealing with the aftermath though, Gen, Spoiler (but not really) It's Bruce Wayne, This is kind of an AU, but its also kind of a future YJ fic, the major character death is only mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whelmedtobehere/pseuds/whelmedtobehere
Summary: Damian had wanted to meet his father for so long, but he didn't get to know him for very long before he was gone. Now he has to live with his father's first student - who is attempting to take up the mantle of Batman - as well as his wife Barbara Gordon and their young daughter all while acting as the Robin to Richard Grayson's Batman.Dick and Barbara for their part are mourning the death of their mentor and trying to figure out how to raise his son who is deeply traumatized but also deeply irritating while still balancing raising a two year old, superhero life and other responsibilities. They'll try their best though. After all, they've faced much bigger challenges, right?
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. Good Night, Elephant

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the Lament of Eustace Scrubb by the Oh Hellos
> 
> I'm basing my timeline on Young Justice with some stuff filled in with comic events but I think this can probably be read as either a YJ future fic or as an AU.

For about the hundredth time in the past couple of weeks Dick was questioning his decision to make Damian Robin. He had enjoyed the nanosecond reprieve from Damians angry complaints while he had zeta’d from the cave to the basement. No sooner had they both appeared than Damian continued his rant where he had left off.

“What exactly is the point of locking these degenerates in facilities they will either escape or be released from to continue their illegal activities exactly where they left off? You should have just let me finish him - if you are too weak to do what needs to be done yourself.” Damian's green eyes narrowed in defiance and he pointed an accusatory finger up at him. Despite having already changed out of his Robin uniform back at the cave, instead wearing slacks and a black turtleneck, he still managed to look fairly intimidating - for a ten-year old.

Dick resisted the urge to sigh or run his hand through his hair, though his fingers twitched at his side. Damian needed to respect him so he couldn’t let him see any sign of exhaustion or just how much his new responsibilities weighed down on him. “It’s not weakness Damian. Batman doesn’t kill and neither does Robin.” Damian opened his mouth but Dick cut him off before he could protest further. “Look, I can’t make you share the convictions of your father and I, but if you’re going to be Robin you have to listen to Batman. Not killing is the number one rule, but you also have to listen to my instructions in the field.”

Damian lifted his head up, stood up straighter and lifted his shoulder’s back in an attempt to match Dick’s height, but since he only came up to his chest he was still sorely lacking. “You’re not Batman and I don’t know why I should listen to somebody whose skills are clearly inferior to my father’s. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions out in the field.”

“You’re decisions,” And as much he was trying not to let it some of his frustration and irritation leaked out into his voice, turning his words into a biting rebuke. “Almost got several civilians killed. Go upstairs and get ready for bed Damian.” He said to cut off any more protests. “It’s late. We can discuss this more tomorrow.” 

“Fine.” Damian scowled but with a sharp turn of the heel disappeared through the elevator that led from the basement to their otherwise ordinary four bedroom home above. Across from the zeta platform, sitting in front of a table with several screens and the most advanced processors and hard drives, was the hero known to the superhero community as Oracle. When not in uniform, Dick affectionately referred to as Babs, Barb, or ‘my wife’.

She angled her chair out from the table in order to face him. “Bad night huh?”

Dick walked over and hopped up onto an empty part of the table in front of her. “It honestly went fine for most of it. It wasn’t until near the end when a hostage situation got out of hand.”

She hummed an acknowledgement and rolled a bit closer to take his hand in hers. He flipped his hand over, so hers was on top and studied the back of her hand. He always thought “I know it like the back of my hand” was a strange phrase. How well did someone know the back of their hand? And what was there to know about the back of a hand? Was it vastly different from the back of any other hand? He still stood by the first part, he didn’t know his own hand particularly well, but he knew Barb’s hand well enough he could distinguish it out of a line up. He knew this hand, the way it looked and felt in his own as well as almost anything. Of course that might not be saying much, as he had felt less knowledgeable and more out of his depth in this past month and a half than he had at least since his parents died - if ever at all. 

“The cape is still too heavy.” 

“I’ll look into it tomorrow. Try to brainstorm some better materials.” She squeezed his hand. “It will get lighter.” She added and he knew she wasn’t just talking about the cape.

Dick slid off the counter and onto his knees, leaning forward to kiss Barbara. He pulled back from the kiss but leaned his forehead against hers. one hand still in her hair. “What would I do without you Barb?”

“You’d be dead already I’m sure.” Barbara teased leaning forward for another brief kiss. Dick stood up and turned around standing to the side of Barbara with his hand on her shoulder. Each of her multiple screens were monitoring several situations and off to the side of the far-left screen was a video monitor of a sleeping child. 

“How’s she been?”

“Good. Hasn’t woken up.” 

“Okay. I’m going to go check on her.”

Barbara hummed an acknowledgement. “I’ll be up in about thirty minutes.” Dick raised an eyebrow. “Forty-five,” she amended. Dick shook his head, knowing it would probably be closer to an hour and took the elevator up to the house above. As he stepped out the elevator doors, the automated wall closed off behind him leaving him in an ordinary looking home office that Barb used for her day job - running a hugely successful cyber security company. There were books and papers spread out on her desk and a stuffed pink bunny peeking out from behind a couple books on the bookshelf across from her desk. Dick stooped down to pick it up and walked out of the room and down the hall. As he passed Damian’s room he could see light seeping out from under the door. He didn’t open the door but pressed up against it, talking loud enough to be heard. 

“It’s been a long day. Try to get to sleep in the next half hour or so okay?”

He heard a faint but familiar “TT.” Since he didn’t feel like getting into an argument, he chose to interpret it as a sound of acquiescence and moved on. He quietly opened the door at the end of the hall and just managed to avoid stepping on some building blocks in the dark. He set the rabbit on top of the toy chest in between the stuffed lamb and a Wonder Woman plushie. He walked over to the bed to check on Jessica, expecting her to be asleep but instead her eyes were wide open as she lay on her side and stroked her stuffed elephant, whispering unintelligibly to it. As soon as she looked up and saw him she was standing up and jumping off the bed. She was pretty fast for a two year old, but obviously not faster than him and he smoothly caught her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. 

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.” He spoke softly as he swayed a bit from side to side and rubbed her back.

“Story.” She whispered back. 

“I already read you a story before you went to bed. Now it's sleepy time.”

“No.” Her protest was accompanied by a yawn.

Dick smiled. “I think so.” He put her back on the bed and kissed her head. “I love you. Now go to sleep.” Then he sat at her feet and rubbed her back as she drifted off to sleep. Though his concerns and grief were still present he felt considerably more at peace than he had just a few minutes ago.

In the room he’d been assigned at the Grayson’s residence, Damian unscrewed the cover off the vent by his bed and retrieved the encrypted phone he’d hidden there. It contained one unnamed contact. He started typing. “Father is dead. Surely there is no need for me to be here any longer. I can’t learn anything from this counterfeit Batman.” He stared at it for a moment before deleting it. Surely his mother knew and would come for him soon. She didn’t need to be reminded. He could endure the pretender and his weak family for a bit longer.


	2. Missing The Target

This was the first time Damian had been alone in the same room with Graysons’ offspring. He wasn’t stupid. He knew this was on purpose, that they didn’t quite trust him to be alone with her. Though he would normally be glad to be feared and respected he was a bit irritated that they thought he would hurt a child. What would be the purpose of such a thing? She didn’t pose any threat to him, not at this age. Though he was perhaps beginning to realize that his definition of harm to children was perhaps different than Richard and Barbara’s. Jessica hadn’t seemed to notice him yet seemingly engrossed in stacking huge, brightly colored building blocks her straight brown hair hanging in front of her face. He was about to retreat out of the room when she looked up her hazel eyes meeting his own.

“Play with me?”

“TT” Damian scowled and opened his mouth to object, but Jessica scooched over - presumably so he could sit next to her - holding out a vibrant blue block and he found himself inexplicably sitting on the floor next to her. She pushed the block into his hand and he looked it over, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do with it. It certainly wasn’t the best material for supporting more complex architectural structures, though he supposed that the size and lack of variation among the blocks limited the complexity of the building anyhow. Although he was sure he could still do better than just stacking them on top of one another to build a tower about two feet high as Jessica had done. 

“This is not structurally sound.” He started taking the blocks apart. “Let me show you how to make it better.”

“Stop it!” The child yelled and threw a brick (presumably aiming for his head) but the throw went wide and he easily caught it.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl, who had dragged the tower closer to herself and was sending a glare that would have been very intimidating on someone with a much more impressive stature. “If this attack was a challenge it is rejected. You are hardly an opponent worthy of my time.” 

“What’s going on here?” Damian looked up to see Richard standing in the doorway. Jessica, the coward ran right to him. Damian stood up. He never stayed seating when a teacher or an opponent entered the room and Richard was an uncertain mix of both.

Richard picked his daughter up immediately and Jessica pointed towards Damian. “He break it”

Damian didn’t know why he bothered to defend himself against the unimportant accusations of a toddler, but he started speaking anyway. “I was only trying to show her how to build a more impressive structure.”

“Damian, she's a toddler okay.” Richard moved closer as he addressed him. “Towers are about as impressive a structure as she’s making at this point. You can help her but maybe ask before taking apart something she’s working on okay?”

He scowled at the reprimand as mild as it was. “When I was her age I was working on scale models of classic architecture.”

Dick only sighed in response. He turned to his daughter. “Jessica we don’t throw things at people here. Even if they do something we find annoying, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.” She nodded.

“It was quite a pathetic attack really. If you want I could show her how to throw a projectile much more effectively than that.”

“No.’ His response was immediate and firm. “She’s a baby. You’re not teaching her to ‘throw projectiles’” 

Jessica, however, seemed like she might not agree as she looked at her father and then down at Damian. “Throw?”

Damian ignored Richards pronouncement and spoke to Jessica. “I can teach you how to throw better.” 

Damian wasn’t quite sure why he was offering to spend time with this small child who had no skills or control of her emotion as well as defy Richard to do so. But then again maybe that was reason enough. At his offer Jessica startled wriggling in her father’s arms and the look of bewilderment and betrayal on his face sent a feeling of smug amusement through Damian’s chest - Jessica clearly had better judgement than her father - until he found her being transferred from Richard’s arms into his own. 

“What-” he spluttered. It was a most undignified sound but he couldn’t blame himself for being surprised. He’d never held a child before (nor had he thought he would ever be expected to). Richard now looked on the brink of laughter and Damian scowled at him. How dare he place him in this predicament and then mock him for it!

“She’s a child not a bomb, Damian. You don’t need to hold her away from you.” 

Since Damian had no interest in learning how to properly hold a child, he lowered her to the floor. She didn’t seem offended by this but instead took his hand. He begrudgingly allowed her to maintain this hold. 

She tugged on his arm. “Throw with me?”

“Now?” Damian knew he had offered despite Richards refusal ,but he found himself looking at him now. Would he fight him on this?

“I-” He stopped, sighing. “Fine. I suppose there’s no real harm in it. But we will throw soft balls. No sharp or dangerous objects.” 

Jessica smiled happily and grabbed the hand of her father, without releasing his, linking them together like some sort of strange human chain. 

“We have balls and things in the garage. I’m sure we can find things to set up as targets in the backyard.” Richard said as he stopped down to pick Jessica back up and started walking down the hall. Damian followed, wondering what exactly he had volunteered himself for.

Damian was in his quarters reading a book his philosophy tutor had assigned before he had left his mother’s care, when there was a knock on his door. “Come in.” He called. It was probably Richard coming to communicate something about patrol tonight. He opened the door and Richard walked in.

“Hey Damian. I just wanted to thank you for spending time with Jessica. You’re good with her.”

Damian bristled at his tone. As if this was a surprising revelation that led to a reluctant concession. “I never planned to harm your child.”

His tone was a challenge but Dick didn’t rise to it, keeping his tone calm and collected. “I know that, Damian. That’s not what being good with her means. It’s just- I mean- Jessica doesn’t warm up to people she doesn’t know very quickly, but she seems to have latched on to you. That’s all I meant.”

Damian paused not quite sure how to respond. He felt relieved that Richard didn’t seem to be accusing him of anything, but he wasn’t quite sure how to regard Jessica ‘latching on’ to him. “TT.”

“And Damian.” He nodded at Richard to continue, but he hesitated before going on. “I know you’re just living here because it was one of the conditions to be Robin and maybe because you don’t feel like you have a lot of options.” Damian opened his mouth to defend himself - he was an Al Ghul and so had his name and unlimited resources - but Richard continued before he could get a word in. “But this can be whatever you want it to be okay. Barbara and I aren’t ever going to try to force you into something you don’t want but we’re here for you in whatever capacity you need. Even if that changes, okay?”

Damian scowled. He had no idea what Richard was trying to say or why he felt the need to invade his privacy in order to say it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Richard, and I would appreciate it if you would cease this sentimental foolery.”

Dick looked him over in an assessing manner, hesitated, looked as if he were going to say more, and then stopped only nodding. “Well I won’t bother you anymore, but I hope you’ll remember what I said. It might make more sense in the future.” And he left the room closing the door behind him and Damian went back to his book with an unfamiliar uncertainty in the pit of his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I knew children well enough to be able to write them but it's much harder to write small children than I thought it would be. Hopefully Jessica comes off somewhat realistic.
> 
> Anyway hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter. I'd like to post once a week but I'm not sure if I'll be able to post quite that consistently so we'll see. Thanks for reading!


	3. Unexpected But Not Unnecessary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief chat with Black Bat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really regretting deciding to name each chapter lol. Sorry it's short but I hope you enjoy!

Dick zeta’d back to an empty basement. He sighed. He had hoped to see Barbara after a long exhausting night that had brought him no closer to solving the string of brutal murders in park row. He’d go look for her if she wasn’t back in an hour or so but for now he wanted to get a little bit of work done, so he sat down in front of the computers and pulled up Justice League reports he needed to finalize. He was halfway through editing a report about the earthquake last week in Bialya when an incoming call interrupted his focus. It was from Black Bat. He quickly pulled his cowl back on - in case she was calling from the middle of a mission - and accepted the call.

Cassandra’s face appeared on the screen. She was uncowled leaning back in her chair and her feet were perched on the table in view of the camera. She had a milkshake in one hand and a fry she was dipping into it in the other. Dick relaxed sitting back in his seat (though not quite as far back as she was) and pulled his cowl down. He grinned, happy to see her. 

“Dick!” When Cassandra smiled she smiled with her whole body as she did most things. “Where’s Babs?” She asked. 

“She’s upstairs. I can get her if you need her.”

Cassandra shook her head. “Had a question. It can wait.” 

“Where are you now?” Dick asked. He knew her location officially, had read her reports, but he always preferred hearing things from people rather than just from words on a screen.

“Tokyo.” She answered. Cass was currently one of a few Justice League members in the role of ‘ambassador’ to the other teams of superheroes that were forming across the world. Cassandra usually dealt with the newer teams that needed teaching and guidance, giving training and guidance (though she was equipped to deal with negotiations and diplomacy if the need arose). She would go to different countries, assess how the heroes were doing, relay any requests for assistance, train them, and give suggestions. Cass was a natural teacher and the role was a perfect fit for her. It was one of the reasons she had refused, when he had asked her to take Bruce’s mantle - to be Batman. He thought the honor should go to her but she had refused (“not forever” she’d said, “but for now”) saying she wasn’t ready for it yet. He wasn’t sure how to felt - a little bit disappointed and a little bit strangely relieved. 

“How’s it going?” He asked.

“Good. They’re good. But young.” Cassandra wasn’t much for words. Not in the same way Bruce had been, rationing words as if they cost him something precious, but because words had been denied to her for so long creating a barrier to something that was so natural to others. She worked hard but it was a long, slow process. Cass had never needed many words to truly express herself though, saying just as much with her body and her eyes. Even now, what she was saying may seem perfunctory and simple enough, but he knew when she said good she meant they were good people, they were trying, and that she liked them. He also knew from reading the file on Tokyo’s League that quite a few of them were older than Cass and himself. What she meant by young was inexperienced and raw. Although to be fair, compared to Cass most people were inexperienced.

“Well they have a good teacher. I’m sure they’ll benefit from your expertise.”

“Speaking of teaching. How’s Damian?” Dick wasn’t sure what exactly he did, what subtle posture shift or eyebrow twitch she picked up on, but before he even said anything her face was screwing up, her lips pursing and nose wrinkling in an expression of concern. “That bad?”

“I have no idea what I’m doing with him. He’s arrogant Cass. He doesn’t listen. He questions every move I make. As if I’m not questioning myself enough.” He sighed running a hand through his hair. “I know how to be a hero as Nightwing, but Batman? I’ve done it before but it was always temporary and Bruce often wasn’t far away. Without Bruce I feel lost Cass.”

“I miss Bruce too. He believed in you. So do I. We’re-” She point to the Bat on her chest. We’re bats. We’re a team. “Don’t give up on Damian. His childhood. Hard to unlearn.” Cass concluded and Dick knew she spoke from experience.

“Thank you Cass.”

They talked for a little while longer about anything and everything until Barbara came down. Cass asked her about a new training system they were developing and Dick headed upstairs the weight in his chest feeling just slightly lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'll update this weekly" she said before disappearing off the face of the planet. Sorry guys! I should have known better than to give myself a deadline. Pressure tends to sap creative motivation for me. Then I started Grad school and I've been super busy so I won't make any promises about updating on a schedule. I am hoping to continue with this I just don't know how frequently I'll be able to update. Anyway I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first multi-chapter fic but my idea for this is more of connected one-shots that follow Damian's developing relationship with the Dick Barbara and their daughter and his dawning realization that maybe the way he was raised wasn't the best.


End file.
